New IRC channel #secondlife on irc.freenode.net

Dude you just outted the conspiracy. Watch your Robot back! They are coming for you, as soon as they finishing greening!

They already got my arm.

Eboni Khan has just levelled up in the forums. She is now officially level 52, and has gained the withering retort skill.

Thank god you can still do the important stuff one handed

PS - you look like a robotic version of Michael Myers from Halloween in that picture. Plus you have android boobs.

Then you are just remembering WRONG, Eboni, because I said that I thought saying that was wrong, and I said it to Prok personally and to everybody on these boards.

Aimee, I am not any sort of "fifth column" and I resent being portrayed as such. What's going to happen, though, regarding the fifth ESTATE is people are going to perpetuate this stuff so much that even if I'm not tempted enough to expose it, SOMEBODY will be, and in point of fact, they already ARE.

Because I wasn't the first, and I will not be the last, to suffer unwarranted personal attacks every day of my life on these threads, and any newcomer who just wants to hang around long enough to witness it will see the same thing happening to other people one day.

You can slander the crap out of normal, nice, sensible people such as myself every day of your lives if that's what you live for, but eventually it is going to bite you on the butt. Eventually you will NOT have a stranglehold on these forums and all opinions expressed therein. I got in this whole fix in the first place for sticking up for the LAST person you did it to. Eventually there will be more than just me speaking up against it.

Meanwhille, you keep on calling me all kinds of personal, slanderous things - NONE of which are the SLIGHTEST bit true - along with all kinds of accusations about me actually being someone else, or posting someone else's words and thoughts (talk about conspiracy theories) - ALSO patently untrue - with impunity, then taking advantage of my objecting to it to slather on pounds more, including suggesting that a person isn't supposed to GET to stand up for themselves. While I don't call any one of you a damn thing.

You think that is going to go unnoticed? You think you are going to enjoy this playground for bullies forever? It's not going to work that way. Maybe those of you who do this are just in such a habit of doing it, you think it is the way things normally should be. And God knows, you reinforce each other's doing it. But it IS wrong, and that's how I know it can't last forever.

coco

P.S. Flipper, that's not a CONSPIRACY THEORY. That's me getting answers to my questions - yes, the channel is run by a couple of players, and yes, they have kicked people out - and me then concluding that no wonder some people don't feel welcome there, and that yes, more channels would be good.

That's no conspiracy theory. Those are FACTS.

P.S. Aimee, the person who is destroying this game isn't me. If people could refrain from framing everything as personal attacks, these forums would be a better place for people to be.

I don't think ANY ONE of us wants to destroy the game. But the behavior of belitting and slandering and trying to run off individual players, as a group, is going to have the EFFECT of ruining the forums and thus the game; not me.

I also resent the proposition that I have as a single target a desire to destroy the game. I resent that A GREAT DEAL. I haven't accused you and others of trying to destroy the game by keeping the forums as your own personal playground, so don't accuse me of trying to destroy it because I'd like to see everyone stop with the personal slander and with trying to drive other players off.

I will review the forum history when I have some free time (after I am lvl 60 in WoW), and if I am incorrect, then I will not apologize. Since you yourself continue slader and libel (OMG the over use of these words is making me ill) everyday, you are still guilty as charged.

I do not.

Be glad I don't start it.

coco

While this sounds like you are claiming that I said you were a member of the Fifth Column, I will assume it's just another miscommunication like the one we had a few days ago. If however, you ARE claiming that I am outing you as one of the Fifth Column, please point me to the post where I do so.

But to address this statement: "I don't think ANY ONE of us wants to destroy the game." I disagree wholeheartedly. There are people out there who try to hack into company networks to delete hard drives and damage data. There are people who try to cause disruptions on forums and chat rooms. There are people in SL that try to crash sims. There are people out there that try to destroy a games reputation. Hell there are people out there that like to bash in mailboxes with baseball bats.

It's all the same. They just get a kick out of it. But I can't sign on to the idea that this unsavory element exist in every facet of our online and offline world... EXCEPT HERE. Especially as I watch it happen.

Well, if it's just a misunderstanding, then I'm sorry for thinking that, and never mind what I said about it above.

When I say none of us wants to destroy the game, I mean not you, not me, not Flipper, not Eboni, not Cristiano - not any of the regulars we see on the forums.

coco

**Deleted because Im tired of participating in these discussions. I am sick of ignorant people who type before knowing facts.....or flat out lie.**

hahaha, thanks Eboni! I'll keep all four of my eyes open!

I'm sorry that you are sick of people who type to ask questions to LEARN the facts.

Anyway, I'm with you. This is all a bummer. I'm gonna go play me a game, or somethin.

coco

Coco, what you fail to realize (because you bought in to Prok's agenda hook, line, and sinker... and now the Herald is infected beyond all belief) is that what you complain about... hostile bullies trying to discredit people and run them off... is exactly what Prok (and by proxy, you) have been doing non-stop since you both rolled in to town. All your constant wailing about favoritism, the "elite," and everyone who enjoys a measure of success or noteriety in SL and its forums IS hostile bullying aimed at discrediting all of the above.

You two have done more to cause bad feelings and resentment than anyone else, ever. Sure there have been bad apples here and there but they weren't engaged in such a deliberate campaign to tear people down... people who worked hard to earn the respect and success they enjoy from their peers and from LL.

You are the most hostile person on the forums now that Prok is gone, by a longshot. 90% of your posts exist for no other purpose than to accuse people of wrongdoing, the vast majority of which is imagined or blown out of all proportion. If you think your actions are helping to bring about a better SL community you are sadly mistaken. If you want to be taken seriously, and you want people to listen to you, earn their respect. You won't get it by simply demanding it... you aleady know how that's working out for you.

You're one of the main reasons I'm feeling burned out by SL these days. What's the point of working hard to build something if the reward for success is to be made a target of malcontents and have your achievements written off as the result of nefarious plots and favoritism? I know you haven't singled me out, but that's how your constant wailing makes me feel... your endless hostility is tiresome.

Thank you very much for your input, Chip.

coco

*HUGS CHIP*

Chip I wouldn't let them get to you. I mentioned this whole fifth column theory a few posts back. I think it's safe to say that getting SL's finest content creators to become so frustrated that they pack up and leave *IS* part of some people's master plan. But never let the words of a tiny number of social griefers get you down. You are really well loved in SL for all that you have done and you should focus on that.

Although I don't share Chip's sentiments about Coco to the same degree (though I do think she is continuing the air of divisiveness we would all just like to put behind us), I can understand how Chip is feeling. After the constant barrage of Prokofy, I felt pretty shell shocked by it all and didn't really want to continue Snapzilla, or really anything with SL - I considered tiering down and leaving for awhile. Instead, I took some time, played some World of Warcraft, and refocused a bit. I am still feeling a bit detached from SL overall, but have started putting my efforts back into expanding Snapzilla. I honestly wish this all could have been about favoritism and there were some secret, easy path - it would have saved me a lot of time and effort.

Yeah, I know how you feel Chip!

All these people getting on my case about being a celebrity, being one of the feted inner core.

But, I figure I deserve it! I've been working really hard, building content, trying to make this place work. Why shouldn't the Lindens pay attention to me? After so many thousands of hours I do know a little more about this place than then average joe SL resident.

I agree, I shared the same feelings of malaise when this nonesense was at it's height. While I have been quite busy this past month with some great projects, I really did go through a period in the past few months where I was virtually producing nothing. While I diligently corrected lies told about me, I found it impossible to defend against attacks based on intangible evidence ("Aimee sends secret signals to to the FIC, etc".

They want to frustrate hard-working folks into stopping. They want to convince up and coming users that they will never make it. They want to convince the population that the motives of all things good for the community (Cabinhead comes to mind) are actually diabolical. When a few of these voices scream really really loud and never stop, it can feel like an army has hit us. We just need to remember that its still just a couple of voices.

Thank you, Chip. All my thoughts rolled up nicely. I was having a lot of trouble putting them together myself.

Coco,

Look at my post, Aimee's, and Chip's, and you know what you see? How someone's efforts can nearly drive three very different, very dedicated people out of SL. That is the thing you are always rallying against - how someone should not be able to affect someone else's SL, but you know what? It went on for months because of Prokofy, and here you have the tangible results. Think about that for awhile the next time you lament certain things while glossing over the actions of others.

Thanks Aimee It's not so much that it's getting me down. It's just changed the tone a lot for me, since I spend more time in the forums than I do in world. It just hastened me feeling like I needed a bit of a break, which is a cycle that comes around every now and then anyway. I completely share your theory. I just find the perpetuation of the FIC myth and the constant fear mongering very disappointing and frustrating and I needed to vent.

I do understand, Cristiano. As much as a person who has been SINGLED OUT the way I have can understand why a whole group of people might have decided to take umbrage, long before I appeared on the scene, at the idea that the Lindens don't make it a point to sample from their player base as much as they should.

Being a fairly empathetic person, I do see why some people have become depressed about it. An easier solution would be just for the Lindens to FIX it. It isn't Aimee's fault they keep using her picture. It isn't ANYBODY'S fault they keep dipping into the same pool of known-quantity players. That's why I just read Chip's post, thought about it, and thanked him for it. That doesn't make it good for the game, though. And I really don't expect - considering the things I read about myself - personally! - here, for any one of you to believe what all I just said.

It's not a myth that the Lindens do this. It's apparent all the heck all over the place. I'm just pointing it OUT. And trying to get it changed.

Aimee, I am NOT a "them" and I'm not trying to get to ANYBODY, except the Lindens, who apparently don't know how to handle their own PR and morale issues well enough. That's not your fault, Chip's fault, or my fault.

I don't want to "frustrate hard-working folks into stopping." What the heck do you think I do on the game? Does my hard work not count? Are you the only people who work hard? Or make things? All the things I have done here are just basically non-existant? Or if it's there, it can't ever possibly be quality work, and can't ever be quality as high as yours, Aimee, or Chip's? Is that inherent in your thought process?

I'm not attempting to continue an "air of divisiveness" you wish had been left behind. I'm pointing to a problem that remains, that the Lindens very much need to fix. The problem will remain until they do fix it, whether I am here or not, and others will point it out if I don't. You just don't think there is a problem, and in any case, you don't want to hear about the problem.

Cristiano, you are so worried that my efforts to get rid of this problem is going to drive three very creative people out of SL. (As if anything I say could have that much power.) How about all the players that will be driven away if they don't see some semblance of an even playing field?

And how about me, who should have been driven away long since, by all the personal attacks against me, which I have never made them in return? When I have attempted merely to (a) keep other players from being driven away by being jumped on by everybody, and (b) improve the game by getting rid of appearances of favoritism? And any others like me, before or since, who see the same problem?

As for not feeling like making anything, how do you think I feel? I know that half of you dislike me for no good reason, and make that clear at every opportunity. And I know that my creative efforts are virtually doomed from the start because of this. You guys are the big names in the game. Of course I realize how that wrecks me. Do you think I like that? Do you think I wanted that? Don't you know I knew there would be some of that, from the start, just by me sticking up for another player? What I didn't know was how huge the whole thing would be, and how enduring. After all, saying you want fairness and equal opportunity doesn't exactly make a person a radical in other games and environments, and I didn't expect it to be that big a deal here.

Some of you may be feeling depressed and put upon because some other players want to see this problem fixed. How would you feel if, by merely saying so (and continuing to say so until the problem is fixed), you got four months of direct, perpetual personal attacks? Which you never returned. How much do you think all this profits MY creative efforts? Not a bit, that's how much.

If having a level playing field - if getting the Lindens to open up to give opportunity to all players, instead of their usual crew that is already known to them - by, for instance, making outside business contracts available to all (which, you will notice, they have now done) - is enough to depress and turn off some players, then one might well conclude that those players don't WANT equal opportunity for everyone.

There is a secret, easy path. The Lindens have taken it as regards the outside business contracts. That's all they need do, but they need to do that in all ways.

I have thought of how it feels to Chip, Aimee, et. al, Cristiano, but I can't help but feel it's a tad irrational considering what I'm trying to accomplish. Moreover, I don't think they have suffered nearly as much as I have, personally and as an individual, in trying to bring this about, and certainly I have not said the terrible things to anyone else that everyone has said to me.

It would be good if you would remember that I am NOT Prokofy, in any way, shape, or form. You have tried to get rid of the idea of equal opportunity for all by equating me with him, in every possible way you could - including, in the case of Ulrika on the SL Herald, the possibility that I am actually one of his splintered multiple personalities.

The plain truth is I am myself, and this is what I observe and what I feel. It's nothing against any of you, and your accomplishments, or my own accomplishments, for that matter. It's about making SL a more fair place to be, and that can be accomplished without hurting any one of you at all.

coco

This was merely a thread about a new IRC channel. Yet, 91 posts later, here we are.

Yep, and it managed to keep your misposted thread in the forum - it really is an ad after all, and I know what a stickler you are for the rules.

There's nothing at all unfair about SL. Anyone with drive, talent, good ideas, and skill at diplomacy can rise to the top if they work hard enough at it and have a little luck. What is unfair is that once they reach the top their accomplishments will be diminished by those claiming that the fruits of their labors are unfair.

People get noticed because of what they do and achieve, not because they complain long and loud enough that someone builds a pedestal just to make them feel better. There's no award for best complainer.

What do you think is more harmful to SL... what you perceive as unfairness that isn't really unfair, or the constant negativity caused by complaining non-stop about it? That's a serious question that I hope you'll give some real thought to.

This is a rich and wonderful world full of endless opportunity. Use it to its potential and you may just find yourself plastered all over the front page or in the press. it's not going to happen if you spend all your energy convincing yourself that the everything is rigged, and you hurt people just starting out by making them feel that the deck is stacked against them. It isn't. It never has been. Pity you can't see that... and even more a pity that you don't understand that by trying to "fix" SL you're actually doing far more to break it. You're helping to create a fractious environment where mutal respect is replaced by mutual distrust and resentment.